Toyotas are being targeted by catalytic converter thieves because the anti-smog devices are easy to remove and can easily be sold for as much as $150, Los Angeles police said today.

There has been a rash of converter thefts, especially in the Hollenbeck Division, which covers the Eastside.

The converters on Toyotas are attached by only four bolts, which are easily sawed off, as opposed to most other vehicles where the converter is welded to the exhaust system, Detective Monique Walker of the Hollenbeck Division said.

Walker said the value of the converters is because of three rare metals found inside of them — platinum, which goes for $1,278 an ounce, rodium, which is $6,008 an ounce and palladium, worth $395 an ounce.

The average converter contains only one to two grams of the metals, less than one-tenth of an ounce.

However, metal recycling companies will pay as much as $150 for converters, which can cost as much as $1,300 to replace.